Keeping Your Mind Active Over Summer Vacation

Keeping Your Mind Active Over Summer Vacation

Summer vacation is almost upon teachers and students alike, and it is such a relief with it finally comes around. While I love to be in the classroom, enjoying a month to myself and family is always nice too. However, summer time doesn’t mean that our brains should go to mush.

Both teachers and students alike benefit from keeping their minds active, and they don’t necessarily need to enroll in seminars or sign up for summer classes to do so. Simply by getting online – something most of us enjoy on a regular basis anyway – both teachers and students can learn something new by doing one of the following:

Watch a TED Talk

TED tv is perhaps one of the best ways to hear some of the world’s most renown minds speak on a wide variety of subjects. If you truly want to be challenged or just expand your perspective on anything from science to art to social projects, check out TED.

Visit an Online Gallery

Art is a great way to spark creativity and to get your mind to think in a whole new way. So if you find yourself bored or uninspired this summer, visit the Google Art Project and browse through collections hosted at some of the world’s finest galleries and museums – such as the Louvre.

Join a Wikiversity Discussion

If you always liked the discussions college brought about, but would rather not pay for classes, consider taking a class or two at Wikiveristy. Not only are they completely free, but they are a great way to learn something with a classroom styled setting without the costs.

Learn a New Language

There are several sites online that afford you the opportunity to learn a new language, but few are as comprehensive as BBC Languages. Here you can choose from multiple languages, and partake in both audio and visual lessons.

Take 15 Minute Lessons

Is there something you have always wanted to learn, but don’t feel like enrolling in a class? Visit the Khan Academy. Endorsed by Bill Gates, the Khan Academy offers lessons in dozens upon dozens of subjects ranging from Algebra to Physics to Art History, and they are generally no longer than 15 minutes long.

Summer is a time of rest and relaxation, but you shouldn’t let yourself go to complete waste. In fact, by keeping your mind sharp and learning fun, you can greatly improve your teaching skills or learning skills when school starts in the fall. So if you wish take a few graphic design classes or simply get online – whatever it takes to learn something new and keep your mind active.

This is a guest post by Sam Peters, who manages the The Education Update and enjoys writing about many educational topics, such as how to stay mentally sharp over Summer vacation.

This is actually a really nice post! We usually associate summer with all the fun and outing, but really, we can learn new skills or even hone our talents during summer. I haven’t learned a new language, but I think I’m doing myself good by practicing my photography

that’s true! we tend to think that its all fun and games lang but yeah, we can use the time to further improve ourselves! in the yoga studio i practice in, we have lots of kids programs for those out of school now

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